Archive for October 2018

The small business capital gains tax concessions are extremely valuable. For small business owners who need to dispose of assets that have risen in value during the time they have owned them, accessing these concessions can mean greatly reducing any consequent tax liability, even to zero.

Below is a list of tips from the Australian Taxation Office that should help rental property owners avoid what it has found are the 10 most common tax errors made by rental property investors. The ATO says that avoiding these tax mistakes will save many taxpayers both time and money.

Why do so many companies make bad decisions, even with access to unprecedented amounts of data? With stories from Nokia to Netflix to the oracles of ancient Greece, Tricia Wang demystifies big data and identifies its pitfalls, suggesting that we focus instead on “thick data” – precious, unquantifiable insights from actual people – to make the right business decisions and thrive in the unknown.

One overarching fundamental that SMSF trustees should ideally keep in mind is the sole purpose test – that is, every decision made and action taken is required to be seen as being undertaken for the sole purpose of providing retirement benefits for the fund’s members.

Confused by what all the facts and figures mean on your super or pension statements? Don’t despair – here’s how to translate them.

The ATO has issued guidance on making claims for mobile phone use as well as home phone and internet expenses, and says that if you use any of these for work purposes you should be able to claim a deduction if there are records to support claims.

In every workplace, there are three basic kinds of people: givers, takers and matchers. Organisational psychologist Adam Grant breaks down these personalities and offers simple strategies to promote a culture of generosity and keep self-serving employees from taking more than their share.

Salary sacrifice can be a great way to get a part of your remuneration in a form other than cash – and not personally pay tax on it.

Mum and dad investors in receipt of dividends from their share portfolio often benefit from investing in blue chip shares because they usually have franking credits attached.

Trusts are an important and very useful concept for managing one’s financial affairs, as well as estate planning.